Nazi salute case heads to 9th Circuit

Six years after Santa Cruz police arrested gadfly Robert Norse for giving the mayor a Nazi salute during a City Council meeting, Norse's argument that his civil rights were violated might be headed to the Supreme Court.

Lawyers familiar with the case say they would not be surprised if the nation's top justices eventually rule on Norse's case, addressing the issue of freedom of speech in public meetings. Right now, the suit is pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

One First Amendment lawyer said if the high court takes the case, he suspects the city, not Norse, eventually will prevail -- even if the 9th Circuit rules otherwise.

A 9th Circuit ruling in favor of Norse might prompt the high court to take the case just to reverse those findings, said Peter Scheer, director of the California First Amendment Coalition.

"My guess would be that if it went all the way to the Supreme Court, that this fellow would discover that his First Amendment rights did not include giving a Nazi salute in a City Council meeting," said Scheer.

In fact, Scheer said, as one who supports Norse's freedom of speech, he would prefer the case was not appealed to Washington so the ruling would not be made.

Norse gave the salute to then-Mayor Chris Krohn in 2002 during the public comment period of a regular council meeting. Norse was not at the microphone, but was protesting from the side of the room the council's response to another speaker.

Council members asked Norse to leave the chamber. He refused, and was arrested by Santa Cruz police officers.

Then he sued.

"We say, clearly, it was discrimination on the basis of the message," said Norse's attorney, Kate Wells. "Just imagine, instead of doing his Nazi salute, that Robert had blown a kiss or put up a peace sign or a thumbs-up sign. Would this have happened? Of course not."

The Federal District Court in San Jose first ruled in favor of the city and dismissed the case. Then the 9th Circuit heard the case, and sent it back to the district court for trial. The judge dismissed the case again, and now the 9th Circuit is preparing to hear a second time. A date for oral arguments has not been set.

Attorney George Kovacevich, who represents the city, said there is little precedent regarding freedom of speech in public meetings, and he is looking forward to having the issue settled.

"There's this tension between constitutional rights and the right to run a peaceful, efficient meeting," Kovacevich said.

He noted that Norse likely would be thrown out of a courtroom for giving the Nazi salute to a judge.